Field of the Art
The disclosure relates to the field of restaurant management, and more particularly to the field of automated customer management.
Discussion of the State of the Art
It is often difficult for diners to select a restaurant or other venue that satisfies all the needs of a group, having to factor in complex preferences like dietary or allergy requirements, cost, location, and other needs for each member of a party. Additionally, once a restaurant is selected, ordering may be difficult as a host has to remember detailed preferences for individuals without losing track of orders, and both patrons and hosts may need to navigate crowded areas to interact, especially in venues where people move about, such as at a bar or tavern, or at an outdoor venue such as a festival or sporting event.
Present attempts to address these various needs utilize a number of disjointed systems that may or may not integrate with one another, leaving holes in any solution and producing large technical hurdles for a venue operator and inconvenience for both patrons and staff.
What is needed, is a system and method to automatically identify patrons and provide their location and personalized information, assist in communication and navigation for patrons and hosts, facilitate rapid modification of patron information, create opportunities and provide functionality for proximity-based customer service, and assist patrons in group operations like selecting a venue and ordering.